A modern businessperson commonly carries a plethora of small electronic devices. For example, a salesperson may carry a laptop computer, a Personal Data Assistant (“PDA”), such as the PALM® Handheld, a cellular phone, a pager, electronic note pad, and a wireless internet device so that he can do sales presentations, make calls, send and receive e-mail and keep in touch with his office while on a road trip. Internal rechargeable batteries power these devices. These devices are highly desirable due to their portability, which is directly related to their size and weight. Even though breakthroughs in computer technology have enabled manufacturers to miniaturize nearly all the computer components, advances in battery technology have been relatively slow, resulting in little change in the size and weight of the batteries.
The batteries in a typical PDA or cellular phone will power the unit only for a few hours of continuous use, which is inadequate for a normal businessperson. Manufacturers prefer smaller batteries because it allows them to market a smaller, more desirable product, but power capacity (battery life) is sacrificed. As a result, users of these devices carry their battery chargers or electrical adapter with them wherever they travel, and connect the device to high voltage power whenever possible.
Businesspersons commonly bring their laptop computers, cellular phones and PDAs everywhere they go during the workday, to meetings and sales calls, etc., as well as home at night and on trips. This means they also bring all of the electrical adapters for all of the devices everywhere they go. Manufacturers of these devices have been very innovative in improving the portability of the devices, but little effort has been allotted into improving the portability of the electrical adapters that are taken everywhere these devices travel.
PDAs generally use two cords, one for power and another for a link with a data source or destination. A docking station is most often used for recharging the PDA, providing ports for the data link and line power. The docking station holds the PDA in a somewhat upright position in a cradle, so that the keys and display are accessible to the user during recharging or data transfer. This causes the docking station to be generally tall and wedge-shaped, making it awkward to fit in a briefcase. Contacts in the cradle provide power and data transfer from the PDA to and from the docking station without the need for even more cords. Similar docking stations are sometimes used for cellular phones. Phone cradles generally use only one cord for power, but a data port could be used, for example, with a cellular modem on a laptop computer or portable fax machine.
When a person leaves the office to go home or on a trip, he will simply pick up the device, but then must unplug the adapter and manually (sometimes randomly) coil the cord or cords around his hand or around the adapter. If a coiled cord is placed on a table or in a brief case, it will begin to uncoil as soon as it is let go. The lack of portability of an electrical adapter is very much out of sync with the excellent portability of the devices they power.
Thus there is a need for improvements in the portability of adapters, power units, docking stations and other electrical components used with these hand held devices. Further, there is a need for a convenient method of transporting and storing the cords used with such devices.